Laying of and seizing for suspension-bridge cables



Patented May 12 1925.

UNITED sT'ATEs APATENT OFFICE.

HOLTON D. ROBINSON, OF NEW YORK, N. vY. 'j

LAYING OF AND SEIZING FOR- SUSIENSION-BRIDGE CABLES.

Application led' October 15, 1924. Serial No. 743,682.

To all whom zit may concern.'

Be it known that I, HoIJroN D. ItoiNsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented `certain new and useful Improvements in l Laying of and Seizingl for Suspension- Bridge Cables, of which the following is a specification.

This inventionrelates to wire cables for suspension bridges and to the laying thereof and contemplates improvements in the method of construction and in the means for forming a compact cable of substantially any practical size. i r

It is well known that suspension bridge cables areilaid in strands, each strand comprising a number of parallel wires of the,y

full length of the cable. It is also well known that means must be provided for temporarily maintaining the' wires of each of the strands in place, in parallel relation, and for preventing entanglement or crossing of said wires during the various steps in lay-l ing and wrapping the cable. The strand or bundle of wires is usually cylindrical in form and is usually held `together or seized temporarily, to maintain the wires in position against displacement, by means of a series of wire rings looped around the strand at spaced intervals.

tomarily been used heretofore for this purpose is of circular cross section and occupies considerable space comparatively, thereby tending to keep the strands apart. Noserious difficulty arises from/this tendency, un-

til most of the strands have been laid at which time it becomes necessary to cut and remove said wire loops or rings, known as s'ei'zings, in order thatthe individual cable wires may be freed from the strands in which they are laid without hindrance from said seizings rand said vwires forced or squeezed together toresult in a compact cable comprising a great number of nparallel wires. vIn the formation of cables o f large diameter it-.has heretofore beencustomary, after about two-thirds to three-quarters of `the strands have been laid, to wedge theintervening st-rands apart to obtain access to the interior strands, and to cut and remove the seizings for the said'interior strands, so that ftliebinding together of seven of the innermost strands to form' a central compact'core The ywire of which said rings or loops 1s made andwhich has cusfor thecablebecomes possible.v This procedure has heretofore been knecessary by reason of the fact that the seizings maintain the strands in cylindrical form, thereby prevent-A leaving the strand itself to fill/up the recesses or interstices between strands when the entire cable is lpressed into final form and wrapped. Great difiiculty and delayin con struction with resulting additional cost have ner cable core before completing the laying .of all tle strands, as will be seen hereinafter.'

In the drawings,` V

Fig. 1 is a-perspective' view of aportion of a strand showing one of my improved seizingsA secured thereabout.

Fig. 2 is a similar view ofy the cable as it appears when first laid by my improved method, and Fig. 3 is a similar view of the suspension vbridge cable as it appears after it has been`r compacted intoy final form, showing the appearanccof -the`interior and some of the eX- terior seizings therein..

In tliepractical embodiment of my invention each strand is seized by means of a thin,

though comp'aratively'wide ring or band l0, preferably of flat wire or of sheet metal, the ends lland 12 of said band being secured together in any suitable manner, The method of securing the endsfis not important, but one of 'many possible lforms is 1llu'strated herein. `As sliown,.the edge of the pointed end 1 1 is soldered to the outer face of the end 12, though it will be understood that numerous other structures may also be used for accomplishing this end. j The band 1Q 1s sufficiently wide to effectively hold the wires .I4 in a strand`\15` firmly together, it being. understood, of course, that a seriesof selzings (ir bands 10 are' used throughout the lengthl .of the strand. The strands are all laid in the usual manner as indicated in Fig`.

2, excepting that` the vseizings `remain uning the individual wires of the strands from 'to the cable during the squeezing or com.

pacting operation exerts sufficient stress upon the bands 10 to burst said bands withoutthe necessity for the introduction of a tool into the cable for the purpose of cutting said bands. To'facilitate the squeezing operation, it is sometimes desirable to sever and cut off those of the bands l() which are easily accessibleV on the outside of the cable,

as the cable squeezing and wrapping 'process goes on, a portion 1,6 of said band being sometimes entirely removed when sald bands are severed, as indicated by the dotted lines on one said band in Fig. 3.A

' It will be seen that by reason of the fact that the seizings 10, are of thin material, the burst seizings maybe allowed to remain in the interior of the cable without any disadvantages/or trouble arising therefrom, since substantially no apprecia-blespace is occu# pied thereby, and the wires may b'e 4forced together as closely as may be desired, whereby said interior seizings may assumea shape which can be compared to an open irreguf lar hexagon with somewhat wavy sides.

It will be understood that various changes such as in the proportions and-spacing of the seizing, in the manner of securing the ends together and the like may be made without departing 'from the spirit and scope of this invention, and that I do not Wish-to limit myself to the specific seizing shown herein which is merely illustrative. of'my invention. I claim: A

. 1. The method of laying a cable for a suspension bridge comprising the provision of a series of strands of wire in parallel relat1on, banding the strands with seizmgs occupying little space radially of the cable and designed tobe readily burst under preso and to come close together under pressure.

sure, -laymg the strands, and applying pressure to the outermost strands for` compacting the cable, 4'while allowing said seizings to remain in the. cable.l 4

2. The method of laying? suspension bridge cables comprising the .provision of a series of strands of Wire in paralleld relation,I

seizingl each of said strands at intervals in the length thereof, laying the strands, and compacting the strands to form the cable, while allowing the seizings to remain in the cable.

3. The method of laying suspension bridge cables comprising the provision of a series of strands,`seizing said strands with bands of thin material, laying the strands, compacting the strands7 applying pressure to the outermost strands and depending on said pressure to burst said` bands. v

4. A. seizing for the strands of a suspension bridge cable comprising a thin band adapted to be readily burst under pressure, a-nd adapted to remain in said cable.

.5. Means for temporarily confining the strands of a suspension bridge cable until Xsaid strands are squeezed together comprising a series of thin metallic bands'of low tensile strength arrangedon said strands at intervals, and means for securing the ends of each of said bands together.

6. A seizing for the strands` of a suspension bridge cable comprising a cylindrical.

band of comparatively great width and little thickness radially of the strand and adapted to allow said strands to be 'squeezed together into close contact.

7. A seizing for the strands of a suspension bridge cable comprisingr a cylindrical metallic band of comparatively great width and little thickness radially of said 'strands and of vlow tensile strength and adapted to be readily burst under pressure on said strands for allowing :said strands to be formed into a cable and means for securing the ends' of said band together.

8. In a suspension bridge cable, a serieu offstrands, and means adapted lto be burst under pressure'pput onsaid strands for' ternporarily maintaining the wires of said strands in place. f y

P9. In a suspension bridge cable, a series of strands, and means for temporarily holding the wires of said strands in place, adapth ed to remain in saidmable while allowing the wires o'f-said strands to leave said strands 10. In a suspension bridge cable, a series of strands, and thin, substantially cylindrical temporary seizings arranged at spaced intervals in the length of each of said strands.

; HoL'roN D. ROBINSON. 

